Russia on Friday laid out an array of security guarantees it wants from the West including promises to give up any military activity in Ukraine and eastern Europe and not to expand the Nato military alliance further.

The demands, spelt out by Moscow in full for the first time, form a package that Russia says is an essential requirement for lowering tensions in Europe and defusing the crisis over Ukraine.

But they contain elements — such as an effective Russian veto on Nato membership for Ukraine — that the West has already ruled out.